Swallow

Wreck Dive | Boat access

Wooden Auxiliary Ketch | Max Depth: 2 m (6.56 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

The Swallow was a wooden auxiliary ketch, built in 1860, in South Australia, and wrecked in Victoria on 2 June 1922. The Swallow served sixty years in service around the coast and in Port Phillip. Formerly a fishing cutter. Purchased after World War I for Apollo Bay. Blew ashore at Apollo Bay in January 1922 but was refloated. Now the Swallow lies at the south-western end of Port Phillip, between the West Channel and the Loelia Channel.

Diving and Snorkelling the Swallow Shipwreck

Swallow Dive
Source: Heritage Victoria

The Swallow diving and snorkelling site lies in about 2 m (6.56 ft) of water with its long axis at 165 degrees. The length from the two further visible parts of the wreck is 14 m (46 ft) and approx 4 m (13 ft) wide where there are ribs opposite each other.

At the stern of the Swallow there is a large wooden post, possibly the sternpost. If so then there is substantially more on the port side of the vessel. This structure has a number of ribs and a large timber beside them. Towards the middle of the site, there are some lead pipes/rods and some stone and bricks exposed.

Towards the bow on the starboard side of the Swallow, there are a couple of ribs and what appears to be inner and outer hull planking. The upper portion of all the timbers have growth and worn damage, but the lower portions are in good condition. Just forward of the starboard timbers there is a large metal ballard. The base appeared to be lead and there are some iron concretions on the top.

The remains of the Swallow were rediscovered by Peter Ferrier, when the sandbank on which it had been stranded had scoured away leaving the wreck exposed.

Swallow Shipwreck History — Built in 1860

The Swallow was a wooden auxiliary ketch of 25 l-ton (25 t), built in 1860, by Frank Potts of Wellington, South Australia, on a length of 51.2 ft (16 m), a breadth of 15.7 ft (4.79 m) and a depth of 6 ft (1.83 m). Its sails were supplemented by a 30 horsepower oil engine.

The Swallow was owned at the time of its loss by the Apollo Shipping Co. Pty. Ltd. and registered in Melbourne.

The Swallow had traded mainly around the south-east coast of Australia over its career. It was previously forced ashore at Apollo Bay in January of 1922, but later re-floated.

Swallow Sinking — 2 June 1922

On its final voyage the Swallow was bound from Melbourne to Lorne with a cargo of timber and bricks, plus some other general merchandise, with two crew under the command of Captain Duqueim. At around 8 o'clock on the night of 2 June 1922, the Swallow went ashore on the east side of the West Channel.

During the next day every effort was made by the crew to get the vessel off the sand, but unfortunately their efforts were unsuccessful and a tug that was summoned did not arrive. A severe gale struck Port Phillip, and soon after the Swallow was reported to be showing showing signs of breaking up, with some of its cargo floating free.

Heritage Warning: Any shipwreck or shipwreck relic that is 75 years or older is protected by legislation. Other items of maritime heritage 75 years or older are also protected by legislation. Activities such as digging for bottles, coins or other artefacts that involve the disturbance of archaeological sites may be in breach of the legislation, and penalties may apply. The legislation requires the mandatory reporting to Heritage Victoria as soon as practicable of any archaeological site that is identified. See Maritime heritage. Anyone with information about looting or stolen artefacts should call Heritage Victoria on (03) 7022 6390, or send an email to heritage.victoria@delwp.vic.gov.au.

Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.

Swallow Location Map

Latitude: 38° 14.467′ S (38.241117° S / 38° 14′ 28.02″ S)
Longitude: 144° 43.900′ E (144.731667° E / 144° 43′ 54″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-27 22:34:40 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: Omega, 1,869 m, bearing 9°, N
Wooden Auxiliary Ketch.
Built: 1860.
Sunk: 2 June 1922.
West Channel, Port Phillip.
Depth: 2 m.

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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.